And So It Begins
by Kav23
Summary: A routine case turned to be a case that gets much closer to Steve where he find himself to be the killer's object of obsession. Will the team be able to keep him safe from the unknown killer?
1. Chapter 1

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _Please review if you have time, all feedback are appreciated._**

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

Steve's stomach growled and he wasn't surprised.

He ate very little last night, that was also after being forced by Danny. Steve knew he wouldn't be able to focus his right mind on the case if he didn't put the end to the growling sound and plus Danny would have his head if he walked into the office saying he didn't eat anything again. He already had an earful yesterday.

Steve checked his watch and mentally reassured him that he would still have enough time to sneak in and buy him a coffee and grab something to bite.

As he put on his blinker, indicating he was about to turn left, Steve pulled over to the diner nearby. After parking his truck, walking faster than his usual pace, Steve opened the door, allowing the other customer, a mother and her daughter walk out first before he entered into. He felt relieved when he saw a small line of people queuing up the front.

Steve paid for what he ordered, balanced the drink and a pack of sandwich, and perhaps would have taken two steps towards the door when he heard his name being called. Steve turned to the side, and saw Duke, waving at him from the corner table.

-H50-H50-H50-

There he was standing in front of me.

What an intoxicating moment it was to me, to have him right front of me, so close yet still such a long distance apart.

Still standing in the line, I watched as my object of obsession, stepping aside to allow me to walk up to the counter to make my order. It was very hard to resist myself to turn and look back at him. But I didn't dare. Just like any other customer, I walked forward and ordered for a coffee just like how he ordered. In the corner of my eyes, pretending to look around, I saw him walking over to the corner to greet his friend.

Finally, when my coffee arrived, I paid and as I took a sip of the coffee I walked pass by him. My heart skipped a beat and I took in a deep breath, inhaling his sweet scent. I hurried on by before he could sense he had a watcher. I pass two tables before I sat down and took out my smartphone. Like anybody else, I proceed to take photos of my coffee, but then I couldn't resist. I took the risk and took some photos of Steve McGarrett.

Yes, Steve McGarrett, the leader of Hawaii Five-0 Task Force, my current object of obsession.

I wasn't really worried. He wouldn't have known that I have taken his pictures. He didn't even realize that I have been following him, taking his photos, learning about him and his daily routines. Still, I'm keeping my distances, I don't him to get suspicious and ruined all the things I have planned.

I smiled inwardly at the thought. Success came to those who plan carefully and wait. I have planned carefully, and all I had to do was wait and I will.

I wouldn't lie. Waiting silently was the hardest thing to do of all but in the end, it will be all worth it. Steve McGarrett being left in guilt, in the shade of darkness I had designed for him.

Oh, the suspense, I love every minute of it.

I walked out of the diner and waited by my car. A few minutes later, I saw him walking out. As he walked towards his truck, his phone rang. Few seconds into answering the phone, his face changed.

That would only mean one thing, his team finally calling him with the update about the case, maybe telling him the latest surprise I have left for him. It felt so wonderful to personally able to see the horror I had brought to his face. Steve quickly got into his truck and drove away. I wish I could follow, but I had other things to do, other things to set into motion.

I clicked on the secret photos of Commander I have taken a while ago. I smiled. Perfect, a few more pictures to add to the collection on the wall and some to cherish once everything was over.

* * *

 _ **Tell me what you think.**_

 _ **Stay tuned for more next week. Thank you for your time and support.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author note:**_

 ** _Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me._** ** _A very big fat thank you for all those who have read, reviewed and followed the story. A_** _ **ll feedback are appreciated.**_

 ** _Have a nice day._**

* * *

Later in the evening, Danny watched Steve closely from his office. Slumped into his chair, Danny could see Steve was losing into his wild thought. Papers were spread all over his table. Danny could see the muscle twitching involuntarily at the corner of Steve's right eyes, his mouth formed into a rigid grimace. Once in a while he would lean forward, placing his hand on the table, drumming his fingers relentlessly.

Danny knew what was going on Steve's mind. Maybe it was time for a talk. He sighed before he dropped what he was doing and walked into Steve's office. "Hey, babe."

"Hey," Steve whispered, tried his best to smile but failed miserably.

"How did it go with the Governor?"

Steve took in a deep breath before he answered, "Well, so far we have four kidnappings with all four victims found dead two days later plus no promising leads," Steve held up a few magazines and newspaper for Danny to see, "plus media is terrorizing the public with a possible serial killer hunting for victims, so you do the math."

Danny slowly crossed his arms over his chest. "I can imagine. I know it is a stupid question, but how are you holding up?"

Steve huffed before he spoke. "I'm pissed off, Danny." He blurted out honestly, exposing what he was really feeling to Danny. "I mean the Governor, she is right from where she is, her peoples' life at stake with some lunatic randomly killing people, and I can't …I'm no where near to catch him so yeah, I'm pissed off."

Frankly, Danny was slightly surprised but thankful that Steve was openly acknowledging his feeling with him.

"Look, " Danny said as he sat on the chair opposite of Steve and leaned closer to his table, stealing a glance over the papers spread over his table. "Why don't we go through everything we have so far?"

"Again?" Steve asked.

"Yes, again," Danny looked determined. "We go through everything together, maybe we will come up with something."

Danny's determined face and willingness to go through the evidence again, shed some positive light on Steve. "Okay," He whispered as he leaned closer to the table. "Our first victim," Steve pulled a specific case file. "Todd Rockland, 39 from Los Angeles. His wife reported him missing when he did not return from his business trip here in Oahu. LAPD reached out to HPD, Duke and his men found out that Todd did attended his business conferences, checked out his resort, but he never made it to the airport."

Danny nodded as he listened.

"HPD found his body two days later, in a dumpster in an alley behind a grocery store, legs and hand were tied together with zip ties, body was wrapped in a white transparent plastic." Steve continued, "Autopsy findings revealed an incised wound at the left wrist. A spindle shaped incised wound of tendon deep was present horizontally over the anterior aspect of the left wrist. The margins were clean cut and infiltrated with blood. The skin, subcutaneous veins and fat, muscles, tendons, radial artery and median nerve were incised. According to Noelani, it should have taken almost 4–5 hours for death to follow due to hemorrhagic shock after cut wrist injury involving the radial artery. Noelani also said you don't necessarily need medical knowledge to make that kind of cut on the wrist. "

"Right," Danny nodded again before he continued where Steve had left. "Todd should have bled slowly to death somewhere else, because there was no sign of any blood at the dumpster. So, the dumpster was our secondary crime scene, what we are missing is the primary crime scene."

Steve stood up and walked over his table, closer to the soft board where he had pinned case information on. "It was just like any other case until we found our second victim, Roger Edward, 45, his body was left in the same way as Todd's but in a different alley. What was unique this time, or what made us to believe both the killings was committed by the same person is that the small note left inside Roger's mouth."

Danny stood up, walked over and stood beside Steve. "Right. That is what made us to tie these two killings together. A note written using Todd's blood with a paint brush in Roger's mouth." Danny pointed towards a piece of paper pinned on the soft board.

 _Sorry my first kill was so clumsy_ _._

 _And_

 _I_ _can't be like you, telling a lie._

"Usually, serial killers have a habit of taking items from their victims which they can keep for years to come in order to remind them of their kills. But in our case, this lunatic is taking the victim's blood and using it to write a note for us." Danny cringed in disgust.

There few moments of silence before Steve spoke. "You know, at first I couldn't figure what the words meant," Steve shrugged slightly, " _I_ _can't be like you,_ I thought maybe he referring to us, you know the law enforcement people." Steve sighed deeply."But when the second note came with the third victim, that's where it all become personal."

Danny winced as he listened. Yes, that was the part he wasn't thrilled about either, to know a serial killer leaving a note written using the blood of the previous victim in the mouth of the latest victim, directing it specially to his partner. He rubbed his chin before he continued. "Third victim, Bill Stanley, 35. The note left in his mouth was written using Rogers' blood, which says,"

 _He is here to stay, McGarrett;_

 _Maybe you can stop him but…_

 _He is already preying for his next victim._

"Fourth victim, Martin Cooper, 42 found this morning and the note left in his mouth, like we predicted was written using Bill's blood. It says,"

 _He thought you were the very best,_

 _And_

 _McGarrett,_ _he wonders what is taking you so long?_

Steve massaged the back of his neck, frustrated, " _What is you taking so long?_ " He reread the sentence out aloud. "What? To capture him? He is clearly taunting me. Why me in the first place?" Steve threw his hands in the air.

"If you have realized, your name was not there in the second note, but it only appeared in the third note." Danny shrugged. "Maybe he saw you in the news, get to know that you are leading the investigation."

"Five 0 Task Force together with HPD is handing the case is what I said in press conferences."

"But you were the one he saw. For him, you are the law enforcement and taunting you directly, maybe gives him a sense of power, control or perhaps a sense of thrill."

Steve chose silence, he was digesting Danny's words as his eyes went all over the soft board.

Danny continued when he didn't hear any reply. "Another thing about the note, all the sentences start with a 'he', there's no 'I', so either he referring to his partner, which is crazy because this would suggest that we have serial killers or he's referring to his own altered persona. However, we have nothing solid to make a conclusion on this." Danny raked his fingers through his hair before he continued. "Four killings, what do they have in common is that all four victims are male, early 30s to to late 40s, killed and their body dumped in the same way. Other than that, they have nothing in common, the first victim was from Los Angeles, visiting Hawaii, the other three were from different part of Hawaii. Lou and the others have been digging deeper into their lives, but so far, they have nothing in common, different race, different body structure, totally different lifestyle, there was no evidence of any four of them coming across each others."

Steve's eyes fell over the notes as Danny was talking. He read them again. "You're missing out something else that is now common between all the four killings."

Danny lifted an eyebrow as he turned to Steve. "What is that?"

"Me."

* * *

 _ **Tell me what you think. I tried by best to get the facts right, so s** **incere apologies for the mistakes if there are any.**_

 _ **Stay tuned for more next week. Thank you for your time and support.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author note:**_

 _ **Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me.**_ ** _A very big fat thank you for all those who have read, reviewed and followed the story_** _ **. All feedback are appreciated.**_

 _ **Have a nice day.**_

* * *

"How can you be the connection between these four killings?"

"Danny, it struck me when you were stating the facts. Let me explain it to you."

"Please do and feel free to spare me from having a heart attack."

Steve ignored the comment. "Serial killer generally seeks out people with similar traits, right? Each victim may have something in common that only the killer easily recognizes. There has got to be something common between all the four victims that made them vulnerable to the killer in some way, a characteristic which indicates that the killer has sought to achieve a feeling of superiority."

"Which is what we are missing." Danny chipped in.

"Yes, exactly. So why don't we look over this situation in a different perspective, like before killing and after killing."

Danny's face went blank. "I'm not following you."

Steve inhaled deeply and went on full explanation mode. "Listen, before each killing, our killer here, he is like a predator hunting his victims. Four killings and there is no change in his MO, that means he is quite confident in what he is doing. In this hunting ground, he sustains the complete control because the prey, they obviously have no idea that they are being hunted which makes the predator's job easy."

"Okay." Danny whispered as he processed what Steve was telling him.

"But after the killing, to a certain extent, this predator's sense of control is shaken because a new predator is entering the ground. The killer is losing his control when I enter into the picture because…"

"He becomes the prey the moment you become the predator. The hunter has become the hunted."

"Yes, Danny!" Steve exclaimed. "The prey knew it is being hunted. Now, since the prey knew its predator, the only way to avoid the predation pressure, the only way to defend itself against predator in order to survive is by …"

"constantly be on the lookout for its predator. " Danny looked widely at Steve as the realization hit him hard. "Steve, that means he…he must be watching you. He must be watching what you are doing because the more unsuccessful you are in catching him, the more successful he will be in his killing spree."

"Make sense, isn't it?" Steve asked and continued without waiting for any reply. ' _I can't be like you, telling a lie_ ' is his reply for my press conferences where I said we will do everything in our power to ensure the safety of the people of Hawaii. ' _He is here to stay_ ,' is him challenging me, something like you do what you want, but I'm already hunting my next victim. The last one ' _what is taking you so long_?' is him mocking me because he knows for sure that I'm nowhere near him. To come up with all these, he must definitely to a certain extent watching me. Danny, this got to be it. Maybe if we can…" Steve turned to Danny as he spoke, feeling relieved that they had made some sort of progress, but the little satisfaction he was feeling at that moment leveled down when he saw Danny's face.

"Danny, what happen?"

Danny shook his head as he answered rather slowly, "Nothing."

"Danny, this gives us something solid to move on with. You should be at least looking a little relieved."

"Relieved that we come with something, definitely yes, but knowing you are the serial killer's favorite watch list, no, I'm not excited about that."

Steve sighed. "Danny, I'm not thrilled about this either, but here we are, in this unexpected situation."

"What you think we should do next?" Danny's expression dulled.

"If I am indeed, like you said in his favorite list, I suggest we use it. We lure him out."

Danny scowled."You see, stop. You're done because now I see what is going on. You are suggesting to use you as a bait to trap him."

"That might be one option."

"No." Danny said firmly, leaving no room for argument.

"Danny, four killings and we nowhere near him, hell we don't even know what made him to choose these victims."

"Still, it is a no because I'm not looking forward to dig your body out from a dumpster."

"Danny, just because I said he might be watching me, it doesn't mean I fit into his victim's criteria."

"Well, let's see. You're a male, early 40s, fits right into the criteria that we know so far. Plus, he has been leaving bloody love letters for you in the victim's mouth."

"We will …," Steve scratched his chin before he spoke "come with a solid backup plan."

"Backup plan?" Danny instantly chuckled. "That's rich coming from you, Mr. I don't need backup. You don't even know the meaning of that word."

"You know, we have been out digging information, but looks like you guys been sitting in the office having some fun."

The two sneak a quick look at the glass door and saw Lou standing.

"Oh, thank God. Lou, save me from this madness." Danny whispered as he walked out of Steve's office, directly to the smart table where the others have gathered up.

"What is he talking about?" Lou asked, looking at Steve.

Steve rolled his eyes before he walked out, leaving Lou no choice but to follow them back to the smart table.

"Guys, we may have something." Steve announced as he walked behind Danny.

"Trust me, you will not like it." Danny added.

Steve used the next ten minutes to explain what he had been discussing with Danny.

"Danny's right. I don't like the idea." Lou agreed.

"I hate to say it, but Steve might have a point." Adam tilted his head towards Steve as he spoke.

Danny frowned. "Newbie, nobody like teacher's pet."

"Hey, I have an idea," Tani spoke, bringing the argument to an end. "Why don't we first verify if the killer is indeed watching the boss? If yes, then we can start back the argument, if not, we are back to square one."

"Steve, these past couple of days, did you at any point felt like you're being watched, or you remember seeing the same person in separate locations?" Lou inquired.

"Honestly, I don't know." Steve shrugged. "I didn't pay that much attention."

"Why don't you write down some of the places you have been these days? Me and Tani, we can pull out the footage from the places and will see if we can find anything." Junior volunteered.

"That sounds like a very good idea." Danny turned to Steve. "Start writing down the places."

Fifteen minutes later, Steve walked out of his office with a list of places and passed it Junior.

"We should speed this up. We all will pitch in, each of us take like one or two places." Adam glanced over the list in Junior's hand.

"In the meantime, I'm calling for backup. I will request for a patrol car to stay outside your house." Danny pulled his phone out from his pocket.

"Danny, we cannot do that." Steve objected the idea.

"Why not?" Danny argued back. "You expect me to sleep tonight after making a conclusion you might be watched or shall I use a much more appropriate word for the situation, like being stalked by a serial killer?"

"Danny, I know you're worried." Then he turned to his other team members briefly. "You all are worried, I get that, but serial killer, they stick to the same patterns. If he had been watching me, he knew my patterns, so having a patrol car outside my house or having someone to stay with me will only give rise to suspicions. Look, you know I have an alarm system and if you guys want, I can check in with you guys every hour. I will be okay."

"Remind me to write that on your tombstone. I said there's a serial killer, he said he will be fine and the rest is history." Danny lifted his shoulder in a half shrug.

"Danny…" Steve wanted to continue, but the flow was cut when suddenly an unidentified man walked through the glass door, and merely seconds later, one of the security guy downstairs came up and held the man's hand.

"Sorry, Commander. He very brilliantly slipped pass my desk."

The man wearing Hawaiian shirt, held his hand up in surrender. "I'm sorry, but I need to have a word with you. It's urgent." He said looking at Steve. "It's about the serial killer case that you're working on."

"I'm sorry, who are you?"

The man extended his right hand towards Steve. "Thomas Magnum. I'm a private investigator."

* * *

 _ **The idea of dragging Magnum in for a bit popped out of nowhere, I hope you guys don't mind. Tell me what you think.**_

 _ **Stay tuned for more next week. Thank you for your time and support.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author note:**_

 _ **Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. Thank you**_ ** _all for your support_** _ **. All feedback are appreciated.**_

 _ **Have a nice day.**_

* * *

"Thomas Magnum. I remember. Pretty sure I heard about you from Detective Katsumoto." Steve spoke first as they entered into his office.

"Well, in that case, whatever he was saying is true."

"Uh huh, does that mean you went snooping behind us, working on the serial killer case?" Danny smirked.

"No." Magnum said quickly.

"Then how come you said you have something to tell me about the case." Steve questioned.

"Jean Madison called me up. Yes, Todd Rockland, the first victim's wife."

"She wanted you to investigate her husband's murder?"

"No, well not really. She knew Five-0 is working on the case. She even told me that one of your team members spoke to her."

"What she wanted from you then?"

"Well, it was kind of odd, she wanted to know about her husband's final hours on the island. She had a doubt and she wanted me to look into it."

"What kind of doubt?" Danny raised his eyebrows.

"When she checked with the resort her husband was staying, they told her that Todd checked out from the resort just a couple of hours after his business conferences had ended, but according to what she know for sure, he was only supposed to fly out the next day morning. So why would he want to check out of his resort almost like half a day earlier when the resort is not even like half hour drive from the airport."

It sounded like reasonable doubt and Steve wondered how they could have overlooked the matter. He ignored his thought for a moment and focused on the conversation. "She wanted you to look into that?"

Magnum nodded.

"She could have voiced out her doubt to us when we spoke to her." Danny chipped in.

"I asked this to her and she said her doubt could be nothing and she doesn't want to end wasting your time since you guys have your hands full with a serial killer."

"Fair enough, but I guess you found something."

"Well, I happen to speak to one of the resort housekeepers who to happen to clean Todd' room."

"Happen to?" Danny raised his eyebrows again.

"Yeah." Magnum kept the straight face on and continued. "It seems they spoke briefly once and Todd queried about best rooftop restaurant around that he could visit his last day, the night before he fly out. I manage to pull out of footage of the restaurant that she had suggested to him." Magnum shoved his hand into his right pocket and pulled out a USB flash drive. "Can I borrow your laptop?"

"Here," Steve leaned forward, grabbed his laptop form the table and passed it to Magnum. As Magnum was opening the needed file, Steve walked over and sat beside Magnum on the couch while Danny on the other side, having Magnum in between of them.

"Okay," Magnum said as he clicked the video. "Here it is."

"That's Todd." Danny identified. "He's having dinner alone."

"Yes." Magnum confirmed to which Steve nodded. "Watch this." Magnum said before he fast forward the video and stopped at a specific timeline.

Steve narrowed his eyes as leaned closer to the screen. A woman walked by and stood by Todd's table.

"Looks like a mysterious lady joining in." Danny uttered as they watched the women lingered by Todd' table, they seem to speak briefly before she very comfortably sat the opposite him on the table.

"Mysterious is right, look the way she sits, the way she interacts with him. Look at her body language." Magnum pointed out.

"She definitely trying to keep herself away from the camera." Danny added. "Wow, that's so generous of her, she is buying him drink."

"Check this out." Magnum fast forwarded the video again and showed the moments when they were walking out of the restaurant. "You notice anything?"

"None of the camera were able to get the full shot of her face." Steve said, looking at Magnum and Danny.

"It would be one hell of a coincidence if it was but what were the chances for this to happen? So I would say she knew where the cameras are and how to avoid them. Plus the floppy hat she's wearing, that isn't a coincidence either, that pretty much helped her to block her face from the camera." Danny added.

"Noelani did find traces of alcohol in his blood, but it was not excessive." Steve scratched his chin. "Maybe it was her trick, not to get him drunk, but just to be a bit tipsy so that he would follow what she says."

"I'm with you on that." Magnum agreed. "So from a guy who was supposed to sleep in after dinner and check out only early morning the next day, he ended up drinking with a complete stranger and checked out that night itself. I know we have no evidence of her being with him when he checked out, but I think it is safe to assume that she might be the reason why he checked out earlier."

"I remember the receptionist telling us that he looked like he had a couple drinks when he checked out, plus she said he kept on looking at the main entrances so she thought someone must have been waiting for him there." Steve said as he rubbed his chin. "What she had told us seem to make sense now."

"I know I don't have much that you guys can use to identity her, but if you can somehow bring her in, she might fill in the puzzle that you have about Todd's murder."

"Thank you, Mr. Magnum." Steve said. "Can you save a copy of the footage to my laptop?"

"Of course." Magnum copied the video and passed the laptop back to Steve.

"We appreciate you coming to us with this key piece of information." Danny thanked him.

"Honestly speaking, usually, curiosity would have got the better of me and I would end up snooping, finding who she is, but I know the sensitivity of this case and mostly importantly, I know who I should not mess up with." Magnum smiled before he shook Steve and Danny's hands. "I just hope it would help you guys with something."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Well, for my case, I found out what client wanted to know, it's just that I'm not sure whether I looking forward to tell the wife that her husband hook up with a random woman in a restaurant."

"Part of the job, right?"

Magnum shrugged. "I will walk myself out."

Once Magnum was out, Danny turned to Steve. "The thing I hate about new evidence, they turn everything we have so far upside down. Now, we have to look back into everything from different point view, there could be a lot of new possibilities when this new information is added. The worst I could think about right now is our serial killer might be a woman."

"I don't know, Danny." Steve rubbed his forehead. "I agree about looking into everything again, but a woman?

"Why not?" Danny shrugged. "There is a possibility."

"There is a possibility she might a part of it."

"A part? You are saying there more than one killer?"

"If she is the killer, how would you explain the body dumping? You saw her size, you think she capable to dispose the male victims which I can surely say, heavier than her? Besides, how would you explain the other killings? Although the way the bodies dumped are the same, but we don't have anything to link her to the other three killings and how about the notes, it all start with a 'he'.

"This is getting interesting, so you're saying we might a have like a couple serial killer? I will take a shot then. The woman lures the victims out, the guy help to kidnap, they kills together, and the guy disposes them, something like that?"

"I guess this is what we need to find out." Steve said before he walked out and gathered the others again around the smart table.

"What was that about?" Lou inquired about Magnum.

"He might have given us a new information." Steve showed the video and explained what Magnum have shared with him and Danny. Steve didn't miss the change in Junior's face. "What it is Junior?"

"Hang on a second." Junior rushed back to his table, grabbed his tablet and spoke as he walked out. "Our third victim, he went missing after he was drinking the bar alone right?" Junior continued as the others nodded. "Anything seems familiar now?" Junior played the footage of the bar on the night Bill Stanley went missing. "Left corner."

"That's her." Tani spoke almost immediately. "We can't really see the face, but that's her. Same way of dressing, and the hat, that stands out.

"Weird though because in this footage, she never made any direct contact with victim. The closest she got to him was when she walks out of the bar. In fact, she went out first, Bill only went out ten minutes later."

"She must have been waiting for him in the parking lot. There were no CCTV there which gives her a perfect opportunity." Lou added in.

Danny turned to Steve and could see that he was thinking something very deeply. "What is it, Steve?"

"I think I know what the first note, _sorry was first kill was clumsy_ meant. The killer made direct contact with the victim, that's what he meant by clumsy. Think about it, we had this Bill's footage for how many days now, but we never thought even for once she could be a part it because she never made direct contact with him. If Magnum didn't come in with the first victim's footage showing her making direct contact with him, we couldn't have made the connection. In Bill's case, she was just like any other customer drinking in the bar."

"I think I'm going to enjoy catching her." Danny drummed his fingers on the smart table.

"Tani, can you play both the videos at the same time." Steve requested. As Steve watched, something felt odd. Suddenly his thoughts trundled through his brain, taking crazy, chaotic turns before all the thoughts came together leading to one discovery.

Something flashed beneath the surface of Steve's hardened expression and Danny caught the change. "Steve, what is it?"

"She was there." Steve whispered as his eyes grew wide.

"What…."

"Today morning, at the diner. Danny, she was standing right behind me!"

* * *

 _ **Tell me what you think.**_

 _ **Stay tuned for more next week. Thank you for your time and support.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author note:**_

 _ **Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. Thank you**_ ** _all for your support_** _ **. All feedback are appreciated.**_

 _ **Have a nice day.**_

* * *

 _"Danny, she was right behind me!"_

Those words jangled Danny's nerves each time he remembered them.

Danny excused himself and took a few minutes to sit alone in his office. He stretched out his legs in front of him and folded his hands in his lap, immersing himself into deep thoughts.

"Penny for your thought?"

Danny looked up and saw Lou walking closer to him.

"Just thinking about something."

"Wanna to share with me?" Lou asked, sitting in front Danny.

"Steve said she was right behind him, so why did she leave him alone? Was she just following him to taunt him or is she planning for something bigger?" Danny finished with a soft sigh.

"I feel you, Danny. We will keep an eye on him." Lou said as he turned to see what Steve was doing in his office. "Who is he talking to?"

"Governor." Danny answered. "He's updating her with the new information we have so far."

Adam knocked the glass door and motioned Danny and Lou to join him at the smart table. "We may have something." Adam informed. "I spoke to Jerry."

"I thought he was taking a couple of days off,"

"Yes." Adam nodded. "He called up, checking on the case and I told him about the footage. He wanted to have a look, so I sent him those videos. Jerry, you're on speaker, why don't you explain what you found?"

 _"Hi, guys, I went through Todd's footage, plus Junior sent me Steve's footage from_ _the_ _diner. Adding Bill's footage, all these three footage, they don't give us a clean shot of her face. So, I used bit and pieces of different shots from different footage and come up with a_ _facial composite_ _. I know it's not a clear one_ _,_ _but at least something."_

The portrait Jerry had built popped up on the screen.

"Jerry, great job, buddy." Danny acknowledged.

"Yes, Jerry. Nice work." Lou agreed.

 _"Thanks. Let me know if you need anything else."_ Jerry ended the call.

"Adam, circulate this picture to HPD, NCIC, FBI, Interpol, Airport and also Marine securities. Maybe everywhere. I want to hear something about her as soon as possible."

"On it." Adam left and a few seconds later, Steve joined after his call with the Governor.

"That looks familiar to you?" Danny asked, pointing to the portrait on the screen.

Steve looked carefully for a second. "Maybe, I don't know. Like I said, I didn't pay attention to the face."

"Well, that's how she should look like, Jerry add different shots together and came up with a facial composite."

"This is great." Steve nodded. "Circulate…"

"Already taken care of." Danny said before Steve could finish what he wanted to say.

"Okay, it's pretty late. I say we call it a night and start fresh tomorrow morning."

"That's a good idea and I'm staying with you with tonight."

"Danny, I thought we talked about this." Steve sighed.

"Yes, we did." Danny crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought if she was indeed watching you, then she would have known that I'm close to you. It's not going to disturb any pattern if I stay with you tonight."

Steve opened his mouth to argue.

"Save it, Steve." Lou spoke first. "You know you're not going to win."

-H50-H50-H50-

 **The Next Day**

"Babe, a hardware shop owner recognizes the woman from the picture we circulated last night. Guess what she bought? Zip ties and white transparent plastics."

"That's got to be her. Were we able to ID her?"

"Lucky for us, the owner had CCTV outside towards his parking lot. Junior went through the footage, got the car license plate, and we have an address."

"Perfect, call HPD for backup. Ask them to set a perimeter around the house."

"Backup?" Danny smirked. "Hearing that word coming out your mouth is like a music to my ears."

-H50-H50-H50-

"Clear!"

The all clear had been given and Steve sighed softly. There was no sign of the suspect.

"You know, I'm not a genius, but I know for sure the women we are searching for is not the same woman in the picture wall." Danny pointed to the photo frames on the picture wall.

"From what I can see, my best guest she might be the owner of the house. Her picture is all over this place, but there are no pictures of our suspect at all." Steve took a photo frame from the picture wall and passed it to Duke. "I want ID on this woman and also talk to the neighbors. See if any of them can ID our suspect."

"On it." Duke walked away to carry out the job given to him.

"Steve," Lou called as he walked back to the living room. "The house is secure, but there is something behind there that you should see. Follow me."

Steve and Danny followed Lou. Reaching to a room, Lou swung the door open and gestured them to enter first.

It was a small room, there was nothing much in the room expect for four white walls. But what was pasted all over the wall to their right made Danny gasp a little.

The wall was full of Steve's pictures.

It took Danny a few minutes to regain back the sense of reality. He turned to Steve. Steve was shocked as Danny was.

Danny cleared his throat. "I hate to state the obvious, but looks like you got yourself one hell of a stalker."

Steve tried to ignore the comment, but it was difficult. Danny was right. The amount of his pictures on the wall was overwhelming. "Lou, call crime scene unit, let them to process the place, see they can get anything." It was getting very uncomfortable for Steve. The amount of pictures on the wall indicated how much he was being watched, how much he had allowed someone to follow him around.

Steve walked out of the room and his phone rang. "Junior, hey…"

"Sir…" The voice was rough and unclear. "Junior, hang on a sec." Assuming the signal was bad inside the house, Steve walked out of the house.

Once Steve walked out, the call ended. Steve was about to dial again when he sensed a movement at back. A low, indistinct sound caught his further attention. Steve took a few steps towards the noise, but then he froze. Maybe it was a good idea to call for backup first. Steve turned to his side, opened his mouth to call out for Danny when suddenly an arm wrapped around his neck, choking him. The pressure was so strong that he felt as if he couldn't breathe. He couldn't call out for help. Automatically, his hands went up and grasped the arm that was choking him. The very same second, Steve felt a sharp sting on the side of his neck.

Steve's eyesight blurred, everything became fuzzy, and his breaths became shallow. The arm choking him let him loose. Steve staggered and collapsed in a heap.

Finally all was black.

* * *

 _ **Tell me what you think.**_

 _ **Stay tuned for more. Thank you for your time and support.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author note:**_

 _ **Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. Thank you**_ ** _all for your support_** _ **. All feedback are appreciated.**_

 _ **Have a nice day.**_

* * *

It was right in front of Danny's eyes, but still, he needed a second or two to let new sight to sink in. Danny took another step closer to the wall. Words left him. Danny massaged his throbbing temple as he stared at Steve's pictures on the wall.

"CSU is on their way." Lou peeked into the room again and found that Danny was not bothered by what he had said. Danny was too immersed into the pictures.

"Hey," Lou whispered, walking into the room, closer to Danny. "You're okay there, Danny?"

"Huh?" Danny turned to Lou. "You asked something?"

Lou titled his head towards the wall. "You were looking as if you goanna eat the wall."

"I just…" Danny cleared his throat. "I can't shake off this feeling, feels like all these pictures is telling something."

Lou raised his eyebrow. He turned to the wall and glanced through the pictures. "What is it telling you?"

"I'm not really sure, but…" Danny shrugged. "Look at the pictures. The two rows towards you, uses manual focusing but the row pictures more towards me, it uses close focus to draw emphasis on only Steve."

"Well, maybe it's just different ways the suspect took the pictures." Lou suggested.

"Or," Danny sighed, thought a moment before he spoke. "It could be taken by two different person."

Lou was startled by what Danny had said, before he could respond, Duke came rushing into the room. "We have a problem."

-H50-H50-H50-

Steve's head ached. He raised his heavy eyelids half way only for them to fall shut. His body was not cooperating. He couldn't make sense of anything around him. He slipped back into the darkness that was waiting to engulf him.

-H50-H50-H50-

Danny felt as if his heart was hitting his chest so hard he thought it will break his ribs the moment he picked up Steve's vest and gun from the ground. He couldn't believe his eyes. He didn't want to anyway.

"Oh no." Lou mumbled, sharing the same concern as Danny. "That's not good."

"Cordon of the neighborhood, Duke. Tell all to be on the lookout for Steve." Danny gripped Steve's vest tighter. "I'm calling it in. Steve might be taken by our suspect."

Hearing his own words, Danny didn't remember being that scared in his life. And that was just the beginning.

-H50-H50-H50-

Everything was blurry as Steve shaken back into reality. He felt as if he was waking up from a restless sleep. He blinked slowly and thankfully, it wasn't difficult for his eyes to adjust as the room was dark.

His head throbbed. He squeezed his eyes shut again, he willed the pain to go away. Although it was difficult, Steve tried his best to ignore the pain and allow his sense of alertness to increase so that he could analyze his situation.

He was sitting on a chair. His hands were tied behind the chair he was sitting and his legs are tied to the chair legs. Steve could feel a tight plastic kind of band cutting through the flesh as he tried to move his hands. Without a doubt, it was a zip tie holding his hands together.

As Steve brought his full attention to his hands, he could feel something wet flowing thickly over his fingers. That was when he realized the burning sensations around his wrist, it felt deep and warm, but not in a nice way.

Steve snapped his eyes open.

"It's about time you wake up."

The deep voice resonated through the room, bring an end to the silence of the place. Steve looked up to the front. It was dark. All he could see a shadow.

"I was starting to think if I was too hard on you."

Surprise registered all over Steve's face when he heard the voice clearly for the second time. It wasn't about what was said though, it was more to who does it belong to. It belonged to a man, not a woman.

Steve groaned. The duct tape over his mouth prevented him from speaking.

"I know, I know." A grim outline of a shadowy reflection stepped forward but it kept distances from Steve. "Sorry I had tape your mouth. We wouldn't want trouble your neighbors with unnecessary noises and screams."

Steve's eyes widened. Slowly, he turned to his sides. It was dark, but it doesn't mean he couldn't recognize his surroundings. Bloody hell, he was tied up in his own house.

"What you say? Quite impressive, isn't it? I would say your house is probably the safest place for me right now." The shadowy figure moved forward and turned on Steve's television. There was no sound of course, but Steve could see the screen. A news channel was on. "That's your team with HPD, they have been searching the whole island for you. That's so pity of them." The shadow gave a small mirthless laugh. "Do you think your team will figure out that I'm holding you in your own house before it's too late?" The shadow leaned on the wall before it continued. "I don't think they would. That leaves you at my mercy, Commander. We have a long night ahead of us."

Steve tried his best to look calm, although he was getting tired. He felt as though energy was being drained out of him, which was making him difficult to think in his right mind. Thousands of questions were running through his mind. The more he squeezed her mind for answers, the more they slipped through his fingers.

"Although I have to agree, it wasn't easy getting pass your dog, what his name again? Eddie?"

Steve's tired eyes snapped wide open.

"Don't get too hyped up now." The shadow chuckled. "He is such a good boy. You trained him well. He did put a good fight, but I was smart I guess."

Steve drew in a deep breath, throwing the shadow a burning hard stare. The thought of Eddie being hurt was boiling his blood.

"Oh, look at the piercing stare. Now, don't worry, Commander. He is safe as long as you behave."

Steve closed his eyes for a moment and sighed inwardly.

"You have so many questions eating up your mind, am I right or wrong?"

Steve kept his hardened expression on. After all, it's not like he could talk.

""You wanna hear my secret?"

The shadow inched closer and closer. Steve tensed, but he kept himself calm. Finally, the shadow turned to a man standing was in front of Steve. He dragged a chair and sat right in front of Steve. He leaned forward, whispering into Steve's ear.

"She was not the one, but he … he had always been the one."

* * *

 _ **Tell me what you think.**_

 _ **Stay tuned for more. Thank you for your time and support.**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author note:**_

 _ **Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me.**_ ** _A_** _ **hank you**_ ** _all for your support_** _ **. All feedback are appreciated.**_ ** _  
_**

 _ **Have a nice day.**_

* * *

 _She was not the one, but he … he had always been the one."_

Steve brood over the words whispered in his ears.

"I wonder what she sees in you." The man leaned away from Steve, now sitting face to face with him. "My God, she was obsessed about you." He spoke and in a few seconds, very tenderly he crossed his one leg neatly over the other and folded his hands in his lap.

Steve swallowed. He didn't miss the sudden change in his mannerisms, it appeared to be more feminine.

He tucked a lock of hair behind his ear as his mouth curved into a smile. A seductive smile as sent shiver down Steve's spine.

Out of a sudden, he leaned forward, tugged Steve's shirt collar, bringing Steve's face just inches to his. He winked. "He's just jealous, you know."

Steve raised his eyebrows over the sudden change over the tone of voice. It sounded much more softer, more female like. He let go of Steve's shirt and ran his finger over the side of Steve's face, over his neck and stopped at his exposed his chest, pressing firmly for one second before he pushes Steve to the back to his chair.

"It was so much fun following you around. You had no idea, didn't you?" He chuckled softly.

Steve's heart twisted and sunk with nerves as he processed what he was seeing and hearing. It took a while, but it all made sense at the moment. He was at the mercy of a psychotic male serial killer who has an altered female personality that was obsessive about him. He tried to breathe calmly, he had too, if he wanted to get out alive. He remained composed, although he was wondering what was waiting for him.

"But he was right." The face became serious. "He kept saying you will give us a problem, and you did. You have my picture plastered all over the island. That leaves me no choice." He stood up, walked around and stopped behind Steve and rested his hands on Steve's shoulders. He leaned down, again whispering in Steve's ear. "I had to let him to do what he's good at. So long, Steve. I will definitely miss you." That very second, he kissed Steve's cheek softly.

Steve turned his face away. He scrunched up his face in disgust.

"Now, that's not how you react to a lady's kiss, Commander." The voice changed back to the deep male's tone of voice. The persona must have changed back to the first one.

"You know, talking about your team, you have to train Junior a little more. Man, that guy needs to speed up on technology. It was so easy to clone his phone."

It made sense. It was not Junior who called him when he was taken.

"Although I have said we have a long ahead of us, I believe it's time for us to part. Escape when there is still a chance right?"

Steve thought for a moment. He still couldn't understand why he was taken. Why went through all the risk? Now that Steve knew the real identity, what was the next game plan?

"I can hear you, Commander." The man smirked. "You want to know why I took you?"

Steve nodded. He needed at least something to understand the guy.

"Life without thrill rides utterly inconceivable, don't you agree? And besides, Lisa, she wanted to have some moments with you. Since she has been cooperative, I thought why not?"

Steve didn't react. He had learnt a new information, the altered female persona's name.

The man disappeared for a while, but when he returned, he had a knife in his hand.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you."

Steve didn't know what the man meant by that. He could feel the cut over his wrists and he knew it was his blood that was flowing through his fingers.

"Not yet, anyways."

Steve pondered on his chances to survive. There was no clue that would lead his team to his house. With the rate he was bleeding, Steve would be a death body by the next morning.

Steve ignored his thoughts for a moment and focused on reality, what was about to happen to him.

"Like I said, I better leave while I still have a chance."

Steve knew what the man was talking about. The whole island was searching for female suspect. It wouldn't be difficult for him slip out right under their nose. The male personality was a great cover to help him to escape. Unless Steve made it out, no one will know the real identity of the suspect.

"It was a pleasure playing hide and seek with you, Commander." The man smirked again. "I still have something else left for you, although it's not my usual style."

The knife went to over Steve's stomach and Steve held his breath.

He held firmly for one second over Steve's stomach before he stabbed right through in. Automatically, Steve gasped, but the tape over his mouth muffled the gasp. Steve snapped his eyes shut when he felt intense pain spreading through his abdomen. Steve let another muffled gasp when the knife was pulled out harshly. Blood flowed freely from the stab wound. He used the edge of the knife to lift Steve's chin up to make Steve's eyes in line with his vision.

"Usually I would prefer to stay, nothing would beat the thrill of watching your life slowly slipping out of you, but this time I would pass. I let you to have all the fun for yourself." The man took the knife away from Steve's chin. Having no support, Steve's chin dropped to his chest.

Steve could hear movement around him. When Steve managed to somehow control the pain, he raised his head up and saw the man was ready to leave. He had a bag over his shoulder.

"It was fun, Commander. Goodbye!" The man disappeared. A few seconds later, Steve could hear his back door being closed.

He was left to bleed slowly to death in his own house. Steve looked back at the stab wound. He could last for a little while, therefore, he need to push himself past the pain, figure out a way to save himself, to contact his team members.

Steve forced himself to control his breathing. He needed to free himself, for that he free his hands first, but it was zip tied. That left him with limited options, options that would cause further pain, but he had no choice. Inhaling, bracing for the pain, Steve dislocated his thumb. Next, he used his own blood around his wrist as a lubricant to slip out of the zip tie.

The moment his hands were free, one went to over his stab wound, one pulled the tape off his lips. A small moan escaped from his lips when he bent down the free his legs. Waves of dizziness came on full blow, but he forced his eyes to stay open. He had no time to waste.

Steve knew his body would be weak from the loss of blood, but he didn't know how weak it would be. The moment he tried to stand, he fell harshly on the floor and another strong wave of pain was sent through his body. Steve groaned out rather loudly. He ignored the pain and kept telling himself to focus on the job. He couldn't afford to pass out.

Steve dragged himself to his father's desk. He has kept a spare phone in the drawer. A phone for emergencies that only few know about. If he managed to turn it on, and make a call then Danny would know. Danny would understand. Reaching to the desk, Steve pulled the drawer rather harshly, throwing all the content on the floor. He grabbed the phone.

His vision, blurred violently, he wasn't going to able to make a call. Just when the phone was slowly slipping away from his hand, Steve gripped it back. He managed to turn on the phone.

He lost his focus for a moment, and the phone slowly slid down his hand again, but he managed to press the speed dial before he lost control of his body.

He did all he could.

* * *

 _ **Tell me what you think.**_

 _ **Stay tuned for more. Thank you for your time and support.**_


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author note:**_

 _ **Hello, everyone. English is not my first language, so be easy on me. Thank you**_ ** _all for your support_** _ **. All feedback are appreciated.**_

 _ **Have a nice day.**_

* * *

Steve had no idea how long he was out. Everything was hazy. There were voices around him, but he couldn't exactly make out what they were saying. His body felt heavy. It was comfortable to just be, but he knew someone was talking to him, and he doesn't know if he wanted to take any effort to understand what they were saying. There was a sudden pressure on his wrists and on his stomach. Someone was trying to stop the bleeding.

"Steven…"

That particular word made sense. Danny had found him, his team had found him. It took a lot of effort to figure out what they were saying to him and he wondered if was necessary. After all, Danny had found him. He will take care of the rest.

"The ambulances is on his way. Hang on, babe. Just a little more."

He could feel Danny's hand on his forehead. A touch that could keep him grounded, it was enough to give him the encourage to hang on. A while later, he could feel new sets of hands that began to care for his injuries. Something was odd, how could he be so relaxed about the situation? Something snapped in Steve as he remembered. Just when his energy beginning to fade away, he snapped his eyes open in full force. "Da'any" He croaked.

Danny appeared almost instantly in his line of vision. "It's okay, babe. We got you." Danny took Steve's hand into his.

"Detective, he had lost a lot of blood, we need to move him right now." The paramedics were ready to lift Steve and place him on a gurney.

Danny was about to move, give the room to the paramedics when Steve squeezed Danny's hand, getting attention. "What is it, Steve?"

"Not her…" Steve coughed.

"Steve, I don't know what are you talking about." Danny spoke in a rush.

"Detective, we have no time for chit chat now." The paramedics warned again.

"He… He." Steve tried his best to get the words out. He need to let them know.

"Steve, please stop," Danny begged when Steve became breathless and the low beeping of the heart monitor spiked to a high-pitched scream.

-HF0-H50-H50-

His first attempt to open his eyes was not successful, it fluttered briefly before it closed, giving in to the unconsciousness. Steve figured he would try harder the next next time, he came around, he focused his efforts to open his eyes, he lose enough to the unconsciousness. Steve breathed in deeply, opened his eyes and blinked a couple of time, adjusting to the light in the room.

"Steve, you're awake?"

Steve turned his head to the side and saw Danny sitting in a chair, near to his bed, a relief smile plastered all over his face.

Danny stood up, took few steps closer to the bed. "Good to finally see you awake."

"Finally?" Steve asked groggily.

"You were awake a couple of times, but you were pretty much out of it. How are you feeling now?"

"Fine."

Danny rolled his eyes.

Steve corrected his answer. "Okay, I guess. "Can you help me to sit up?"

"Hold on a sec." Danny said before he adjusted the bed to semi sitting position and helped Steve to lean against his pillow. Steve hissed as he felt the discomfort of the stab wound.

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost one and a half day now. Your body became very weak due to blood. Doc had to give you multiple blood transfusion and hook you up on a ventilator to make sure you receive enough oxygen. They just removed the ventilator couple of hours ago."

Steve simply nodded. He didn't know how to react to the fact that he almost died. Steve looked past Danny's shoulder and saw HPD officers guarding his room.

"Steve, first of all I'm sorry." Danny words brought Steve's attention back to Danny.

Steve knew why Danny was apologizing and wasn't surprised at all. "Danny, don't blame yourself. He planned out everything very carefully, there was no way you could have figured that he would be holding me hostage in my own house. Speaking of my house, is Eddie alright?"

Danny waved his hand to ease Steve's worry. "He's fine. Junior is taking care of him." Suddenly something that Steve had said captured Danny's attention. "Steve, I know you must be tired, but I need to ask you something. Before you passed you, you said something like 'not her' and 'he'. Buddy, what was that all about? You mean that was not our suspect that took you? Is there a partner? Like a male partner to help her?"

"There was no partner, Danny."

Danny shook his head. "I don't understand."

Steve spent the next few minutes to explain what happened, the identity of the real suspect.

"So," Danny sighed. "Basically, he could be long gone now since the team had been searching for female suspect. We got nothing on him."

"Not really." Steve said. "The facial composite Jerry came up with, that's still him. Ask Jerry to come with the male version and I can double check on that."

"Okay, I'm going to make the call. Why don't you go ahead and sleep for a while?"

Steve nodded. He was tired anyways.

-HF0-H50-H50-

The next time Steve was awake, he was alone in his room. He stayed awake, brooding over what had happened.

"Hey." Danny said, walking in.

"Hey." Steve whispered back.

"You're feeling okay?" Danny started the conversation. "I need to talk to you about something."

Steve became much more alert as he listened. "What is it?"

"A package addressed to you was left at the office today morning. We have no idea who left it, there is no fingerprint."

"I think I know who could have sent the package." Steve whispered. "What's in it?"

"Your shirt."

"My shirt?" Steve raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." Danny nodded. "I think he must have taken it when he was in your house."

"Anything else?" Steve asked.

"There was a note in the front pocket."

"I want to see it."

"Steve, I don't think it's a good idea, maybe I can just tell you …"

"I want to see it." Steve was adamant.

Danny sighed. He knew Steve would want to see. Danny passed the file he was holding to Steve.

Steve opened the file and stammered a little. "Danny, is that… It is written with…?"

"Yes." Danny nodded. "We processed it. It's your blood." Danny was holding back his anger. "The scumbag must have taken your blood when he was holding you hostage."

Steve cleared his throat as he read the note.

 _Let me taunt you with these words;_

 _McGarrett, I will be back!_

* * *

 _ **THE END... for now.**_

 _ **Tell me what you think.**_ _ **Thank you for your time and support.**_


End file.
